Barakhinei

Barakhinei is a sister language of Verdurian, spoken in the mountain
lands of Barakhún, Mútkün, and Hroth.
Verdurians think it sounds harsh and primitive... of course, the
Barakhinei consider the Verdurians to be spineless degenerates. Barakhinei has its own alphabet, and perhaps its most notable feature is the important sex differences: in effect, there are separate male and female dialects.

Barakhinei, like Verdurian, Ismaîn and Sarroc a descendant of Caďinor, is spoken in the kingdoms of Rhânor, Barakhún, Hroth, and Mútkün, west of Verduria. Barakhinei scholars like to consider Benécian and Bešbalicue as dialects of their language, while Verdurians consider them dialects of Verdurian.

The map is labelled entirely in Barakhinei. Ferediri is Barakhinei for "Verduria".
For Verdurian names see the Eretald map.

Although the state of Barakhún was organized c. 2830, by the Caďinorian princes of the Eärdur made independent by the Curiyan occupation of Ctésifon forty years before, the official business of both state and temple was conducted in Caďinor. (That of the Arashei Church, strong in this area, was still conducted in ancient Cuêzi.) We have only snatches of 'Old Barakhinei' from this period; e.g. from the Glosses of Kâmbrek, which explained difficult words in the Aďivro.

A feudal state that had no truck with modernity, Barakhún, unlike Verduria, perceived no need to write its few documents in the vernacular; it produced no literature except official annals and religious exhortations; and trade beyond the shop level was carried out by foreigners, mostly Verdurians. Ironically-- for the Barakhinei are a warlike, male-dominant culture-- it was women who first developed Barakhinei as a written language. Noblewomen were taught to read Caďinor, but were rarely given enough instruction to write fluently in it; at the same time, armies of servants made them the only leisured class in the country. Our first texts (of more than a line or two) are letters from one noblewoman to another.

By the reign of Lombekh (d. 3110), father of Ambekh the Great, women such as Ilitira, Kondên and Tizati were writing romances, poems, and essays in Barakhinei. Within a century they were joined by men; and when the Union of Eleďi and Arašei was accepted in Barakhún (in 3225, more than two centuries after its promulgation in Avéla), Eleďe clerics began preaching in the vernacular, and we begin to find sermons, lives of saints, and devotional manuals in Barakhinei.

It was not till the 3300s that official documents were written in Barakhinei in Barakhún, Hroth, and Mútkün. (Rhânor is a special case; it is too primitive to have official documents; but women and clerics are likely to know how to read.)

The usual spellings of all three of these countries in Almean studies differ from the transliteration used in this chapter, under which they would be Barakhun, Rhoth, and Mutkhun. The accents simply indicate the placement of the stress, which is not indicated in the Barakhinei alphabet; the other variations reflect local dialect pronunciations.

Given this history, it should not be surprising that earlier forms of the language are available only accidently, or via internal reconstruction; and that very few serious scholarly resources exist. The best Barakhinei grammar is that of the University of Verduria (Aluatas Šriftanáei Barahineë); the best native work is the Fisnava Rhuo Barakhinei by Ekuntâl of Sûlekeros.

The Barakhinei like to say that each of the princes who came together to form Barakhún had his own dialect, which has been perpetuated in his hereditary domain. It is true that each princedom (ekunor) tends to have its own fairly homogenous speech variety. A more useful grouping, however, is into three dialects:

Western (têl rhu), including Barakhún, Rhânor, and the Barakhinei-speaking portions of the Western Wild.

Central (êrrê rhu), including Mútkün and the northernmost principality of Hroth.

Southern (âr rhu), comprising the remaining six princedoms of Hroth.

This chapter describes the Western dialect; in particular, that of Barakhina, the capital of Barakhún. Some significant phonological and other differences from the other dialects are noted.

One of the more striking features of Barakhinei is the divergence between masculine (kê rhu) and feminine speech (honê rhu), extending to every level of the grammar: phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon.

Women palatalize more consonants: n, l before front vowels become nh, lh. Their sh tends to be alveolo-palatal s' (and th before a stop), their ch becomes ts, and their kh is pronounced [ç]. Men, on the other hand, tend to nasalize vowels before -n or -m, to weaken unstressed vowels, and to strongly aspirate their stops.

Women avoid the dative, using a + the accusative instead.

Women always use the second person pronoun lê, while men substitute titles for peers and superiors.

Women use a wider variety of synthetic verb tenses, and (speaking to peers or superiors) use the subjunctive in place of the imperative.

There are a number of distinctive particles used by one sex or the other, and different meanings for lexical items. Women are much more likely to use Verdurian loanwords; men more likely to use reborrowings from Caďinor.

This grammatical sketch follows the neutral register and orthography used in formal contexts, and taught to foreigners. Interesting gender deviations are noted.

The sounds of Barakhinei, in Barakhinei orthography, IPA equivalent, and transliteration.

[f] and [v] are allophones, [v] appearing only intervocalically; but they are spelled with two different symbols, and Verdurian loan-words retain an initial V, which some attempt to pronounce correctly.

Rather than a random collection of ten vowels, consider the vowel system as consisting of two series of five vowels each, the tense vowels i e a o u and a lax series î ê â ô û. Alternations between tense and lax vowels are common in Barakhinei morphology.

Final î, and post-stress û, are pronounced [e]. Other vocalic reductions of unstressed syllables are characteristic of Southern dialect and of male speech.

In the Central dialect, rounded front vowels ü, ö exist, perhaps due to interaction with Verdurian: compare Central sülê, Western silê 'young'. Some Central dialect speakers are known for dropping intervocalic voiced occlusives after the stress accent (rhedê --> rhe'ê, miabor --> mia'or) and for voicing sh before a stop (mashtan --> mazhtan).

In addition, ô tends to lower to [a] (pushing a to [a]); thus Verdurian borrowings like iladil, ďarim from ilôdil, dhorind.

Southern dialect is known for pronouncing rh as an unvoiced aspirated r-- thus the spelling Hroth, spelled Rhoth in the transliteration used here. (This spelling also hints at the southern spelling rc for northern rh.)

It's also known for the deaffrication of ch to palatal c, the fricativization of
intervocalic velar stops (k --> kh, g to gh),

The stress accent normally falls on the last closed syllable: thus ovori, kalen, chamor, anu. Any word that does not follow this rule is marked in the lexicon. However, there are some sub-patterns that can help:

Epenthetic vowels are not stressed: chitor, erêsûl

Roots ending in -l, -kh, or -th are often unstressed: êshtôl, dorôth, ezarkh

The derivational suffixes -nor, -il, -el, diminutive -ek, and the -dêsht in powers of ten are never stressed: ekunor, iladil, êndel, hedêsht, kêntek

The stress is generally on the same syllable as the cognate CAďINOR or Verdurian word:
cf. MACTANA, mashtan, mažtana;
KIBRU, kibor, civru;
VENERA, feter, ventra

The Barakhinei lands have their own alphabet, derived from that of Caďinor. (Benécia, Bešbalic, and Ešan use the Verdurian alphabet.)

The alphabet inherited from Caďinor was:

For a period after the fall of the empire, writing was not used in the mountain lands, except inscribed on stone, or carved into wood. The characters were adapted to be easily produced using these methods:

When paper and ink were once again available, the letters were adapted once more to the medium, and a distinctive decorated mountain hand emerged.

(The characters shown are based on contemporary Barakhinan scribal handwriting. The letterforms are the same in the other Barakhinei lands, though the details differ. )
The names for the letters are

The letters marked <k c> have the values /q k/ and are used as such when writing Caďinor or Verdurian. Only the second character, <c>, is used for the /k/ of Barakhinei.

Digraphs are used for the new sounds that have developed since Caďinor times. The second character in ch nh lh (ik) derives from a small i; the second character in sh and the middle stroke in rh derive from h and indicate aspiration; both are called hêkek. (rh is considered a digraph, and indeed in Hroth it is written rc.)

The new vowels û â ô ê î are indicated with a diacritic (a bazêl 'lowering'), equivalent to the Verdurian mole, and likewise derived from a miniature u.

The usual Roman transliteration of Barakhinei preserves one of the chief features of the alphabet, the use of digraphs. Admittedly, however, the transcription is not entirely accurate-- we should write dh th kh as single characers, as in the preferred transliteration of Verdurian; and perhaps we should write kj nj lj rather than ch nh lh. On the other hand, the transliteration emphasizes the difference from Verdurian, reminding us that (say) čun and chund, hum and khum, zon and zôn look quite different to Almeans: .

The ö ü of Central dialect are written o u (i.e. without a diacritic), or sometimes oe ui.

The numbers have been adapted from those of Verdurian (except for 7, formed from 6 by analogy).

There are no capital letters, and only two punctuation marks, one used for a pause and one to mark the end of a sentence. There is no exclamation mark or question mark. Words are separated by spaces, but pronouns and particles are not always separated from adjoining words.

Barakhinei has retained the three genders of Caďinor. It has retained four of the cases (nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive; only the ablative has been lost), but the accusative and dative merge in the plural.

Masculine

hints

s.nom

eli

lônd

âshta

s.acc

eli

lônd

âsht

always = root

s.dat

elia

lônda

âshta

always -a

s.gen

elio

lôndo

âshto

always -o

pl.nom

eliri

lôndi

âshtâ

eli differs from lônd only in pl. root

pl.acc/dat

elirî

lôndî

âshtî

always -î

pl.gen

elirich

lôndich

âshtach

= pl.nom laxed + ch

Neuter

s.nom

kal

shkor

nôshti

manu

shpâ

in s., shkor follows kal

s.acc

kalu

shkoru

nôshti

man

shpâ

acc = dat exc. for manu

s.dat

kalu

shkoru

nôshti

manu

shpâ

s.gen

kalo

shkoro

nôshtio

mano

shpach

all end in -o, like masc.

pl.nom

kalo

shkoru

nôkchu

mani

shpao

in pl., shkor follows nôshti

pl.acc/dat

kaloi

shkorî

nôkchî

manî

shpaoi

in oblique forms,

pl.gen

kaloch

shkorich

nôkchich

manich

shpaoch

kal is odd man out

Feminine

s.nom

chir

nor

medhi

elorê

kabrâ

s.acc

chira

nore

medhi

elore

kabra

s.dat

chirê

norê

medhiê

elorê

kabrê

always -ê

s.gen

chirach

norech

medhich

elorech

kabrach

= acc. + ch

pl.nom

chirâ

norê

medhiê

eloriê

kabrachâ

pl.acc/dat

chirêi

norêi

medhia

eloria

kabracha

pl.gen

chirech

norech

medhiech

eloriech

kabrachech

always -ech

The most important factor in the historical development of the declensions in Barakhinei was the loss of the final consonant or vowel in almost every case form. Subsequent analogical change has reversed some mergers and brought some of the declensions closer together.

To decline a noun with confidence, you need to know its gender and its plural. The former is always indicated in the lexicon, and the latter when necessary.

(Knowing the Caďinor etymon almost always does the trick as well. However, beware of a few words (e.g. piabor 'grandfather') which have shifted to a more 'logical' gender.
The Verdurian cognate will identify feminine nouns, but won't distinguish masculine and neuter.)

Masculines like eli have lost a final consonant, which is restored in the plural. The lexicon indicates this: e.g. elorî (ni) 'king' → s.nom. elorî, pl.nom. elorini.

For neuters ending in a consonant it is necessary to know if the plural ends in -o or -u. Plurals in -o are more than twice as common as those in -u; only the latter are indicated. So the lexicon has entries kal and shkor (u).

Likewise, for feminines ending in a consonant, plurals in -â, which are very common, are not indicated in the lexicon; plurals in -ê are.

Adjectives of the I declension, whose citation form normally ends in a consonant, decline exactly like eli, shkor, chir.

For some I adjectives, such as na, the final consonant is lost in the s. nom. and the m. s. acc. In the lexicon this root is cited as na (n), indicating the consonant to be restored.

In the III declension, whose citation form ends in -i, the neuters and feminines match the corresponding nominal declensions (nôshti, medhi). The masculine departs from the neuter only to follow the most common m. patterns (minimal form in s.acc; plural in -i).

Those of the II declension, whose citation form ends in -ê, don't strictly follow any nominal class, though they follow the usual patterns (see 'hints' under Nominal declension). Note that 9 of 21 endings are -ê, and -e and -ech repeat three times each!

There are two adjectives in -â (mudrâ, shkrâ). These follow the patterns for nouns in -â; the masculine forms are identical to the neuters.

The third person singular pronouns are the same as the demonstrative pronouns, and do not vary by sex: ât can be 'this one, he, she, it (over here)'; tot can be 'that one, he, she, it (over there)'. The two pronouns can be used as proximative and obviative pronouns, referring unambiguously to two separate referents:

Numbers up to four are declined as regular adjectives (dhunâ nagâ 'two feet', paorich boboch 'of four fools'); higher numbers, including combinations, are invariable (sêsht genî 'to six clans'). The ordinal numbers are also regular adjectives.

Numbers from 11 to 19 are formed by conjoining dêsht plus the digit name, which receives the accent: dêshta, dêshtdhu, etc. The only spelling changes are 16 dêsêsht and 18 dêshtoch. Other two-digit combinations, however, are formed as conjoined phrases: 21 tedêsht êr a; 54 pandêsht e pao; 78 hedêsht e hoch.

Barakhinei has retained the past, present, and past anterior tenses, the indicative, subjunctive, and imperative moods, and conjugates by person and number. However, it has lost the dynamic aspect.

(There are enough mergers that the verb form alone does not determine person/number. In Rhânor and in southern Hroth, pronouns are generally included for all persons; elsewhere, only for second person.)

PRESENT

elirê live

rikha look at

lelê see

bêshti move

habê wear

Hints

I.sg.

elira

rikhâ

lelâ

bêch

hap

II.sg.

elirû

rikhê

lelê

bêshtû

habû

either -û or -ê

III.sg.

elirê

rikhê

lelê

bêshti

habê

almost always -ê

I.pl.

eliru

rikha

lela

bêkchu

habu

either -u or -a

II.pl.

eliru

rikhu

lelu

bêkchu

habu

always -u

III.pl.

elirôn

rikhôn

lelên

bêshtîn

habun

always -Vn

grochê mill

foka invoke

nochê squeeze

faichi leave

klachê beat

I.sg.

groga

fokâ

nogâ

faok

klak

II.sg.

grochû

fochê

nochê

faochû

klachû

III.sg.

grochê

fochê

nochê

faichi

klachê

I.pl.

grogu

foka

nocha

faoku

klagu

II.pl.

grogu

foku

nochu

faoku

klagu

III.pl.

grogôn

fokôn

nochên

faichîn

klagun

Sound change has affected Caďinor verbal roots ending in c or g quirkily enough that it's worth giving a full set of examples, with phonetic changes highlighted.

A Caďinor -u- is fronted before a front vowel; this accounts for the alternation faich/faok. This always affects the III.sg; in the rikha conjugation it affects the IIsg as well (chura → chirê); in lelê conjugation, it affects all but the I.sg. (In Central dialect it remains rounded: 'leave' is faüchi.)

In the bêshti and habê conjugations only, a final -d, -t, or -p in the verbal root generally changes to -dh, -th, or -v/f in the I.sg. and plural forms: sidê 'offer' → sidh, sidû, sidê, sidhu, sidhu, sidhun.

Finally, note the devoicing in hap, klak.

PAST

elirê

rikha

lelê

bêshti

habê

I.sg.

eliri

rikhi

leli

bêshti

habi

always -i

II.sg.

elirî

rikhi

leli

bêshtê

habê

III.sg.

elir

rikhâ

lelâ

bêshtâ

hap

-â or nothing

I.pl.

elirê

rikhu

lelu

bêshtê

habê

II.pl.

elirê

rikhê

lelê

bêshtê

habê

always -ê

III.pl.

elirîn

rikhîn

lelîn

bêshtên

habên

always -(ê,î)n

grochê

foka

nochê

faichi

klachê

I.sg.

grochi

fochi

nochi

faichi

klachi

II.sg.

grochî

fochi

nochi

faichê

klachê

III.sg.

grok

fokâ

nogâ

faokâ

klach

I.pl.

grogê

foku

nogu

faichê

klachê

II.pl.

grogê

fokê

nogê

faichê

klachê

III.pl.

grochîn

fochîn

nochîn

faichên

klachên

In Proto-Eastern the past tense was formed by a change in stem vowel; this can still be seen in Barakhinei, in the substitution of front vowels for the back vowels in the present tense.

Again, alternations of Caďinor roots in -c, -g are given; and note the devoicing in hap and grok.

The -u- fronting (faich/faok) affects almost all forms in the past tense, sparing only the endings -â, -u and the III.sg for elirê verbs.

The -sht- → -kch change we met with bêshti in the present tense here affects only forms ending in -u, while -sht → -ch in the III.sg for the first -ê verbs: têshtê → IIIsg têch.

In the elirê conjugation only, a root ending in -d, -t, -p has a III.sg. ending in -dh, -th, or -f: rhedê 'believe' → rhedh 'he believed'. Note that this affects a different conjugation than the corresponding change in the present.

PAST ANTERIOR

elirê

rikha

lelê

bêshti

habê

I.sg.

elirri

rikhri

lelri

bêshtri

habri

II.sg.

elirrî

rikhri

lelri

bêshtrê

habrê

III.sg.

elirêr

rikhrâ

lelrâ

bêshtrâ

habêr

I.pl.

elirrê

rikhru

lelru

bêshtrê

habrê

II.pl.

elirrê

rikhrê

lelrê

bêshtrê

habrê

III.pl.

elirrîn

rikhrîn

lelrîn

bêshtrên

habrên

The past anterior tense (used for actions taking place before the time referred to by the past tense) is formed by adding -r- to the verb root, followed by the past tense endings. The exception is the III.sg. endings for elirê and klachê verbs: null in the past tense, -êr in the past anterior.

The past anterior endings are always stressed.

No root alternations are found in this tense.

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE

elirê

rikha

lelê

bêshti

habê

I.sg.

elirta

rikhmâ

lelmâ

bêshtech

habech

II.sg.

elirtê

rikhmê

lelmê

bêshtech

habech

III.sg.

elirtê

rikhmê

lelmê

bêshti

habti

I.pl.

elirtu

rikhma

lelma

bêshchu

habchu

II.pl.

elirtu

rikhmu

lelmu

bêshchu

habchu

III.pl.

elirtôn

rikhmôn

lelmên

bêshtîn

habtîn

The subjunctive, derived from the Caďinor remote static present, is formed by adding -t- or -m- to the verb root, then the subjunctive tense endings. For all but the highlighted forms, these are the same as the present tense endings. Also note that -tu changes to -chu in the I.pl and II.pl for the bêshti and habê conjugations only.

In speech, the endings devoice the ending of the verbal root (habchu → hapchu), but this is not reflected in writing.

Some verbs have a distinct subjunctive root, noted in the lexicon. E.g. laoda 'go' → subj. I.sg. lodâ, not *laodmâ.

PAST SUBJUNCTIVE

elirê

rikha

lelê

bêshti

habê

I.sg.

elirka

rikhnâ

lelnâ

bêshtir

habir

II.sg.

elirchê

rikhnê

lelnê

bêshtir

habir

III.sg.

elirchê

rikhnê

lelnê

bêshtri

habri

I.pl.

elirku

rikhna

lelna

bêshtru

habru

II.pl.

elirku

rikhnu

lelnu

bêshtru

habru

III.pl.

elirkôn

rikhnôn

lelnên

bêshtrîn

habrîn

The past subjunctive is formed like the present subjunctive, but using a different infix: -k/ch- for the elirê conjugation, -n- for the rikha and lelê conjugations, -r- for the others. In the latter, note the special ending in the I.sg and II.sg.

IMPERATIVE

elirê

rikha

lelê

bêshti

habê

II.sg.

elir

rikh

lel

bêch

hap

II.pl.

elirêl

rikhel

lelel

bêkchu

habu

III.sg.

elira

rikha

lela

bêkcha

haba

III.pl.

eliran

rikhan

lelan

bêkchan

haban

The II.sg. imperative is usually just the verb root, with some irregularities. The bêshti and habê forms are the same as the present tense I.sg. The rikha forms show the c,g → ch softening: foka → foch; they and the lelê forms also turn a -u- into an -i-: chura → chir. Final -b, -g are devoiced in all conjugations.

The II.pl. imperative in the bêshti and habê forms are the same as the present tense forms. For elirê verbs, it's the same as the present III.sg. plus -l; for rikha and lelê verbs it's the same as the past I.sg. plus -l.

The III.sg. forms all show the root alteration u →i (chura → chira). Final -d, -t, -p in the root become -dh, -th, -v. The III.pl. forms simply add an -n onto this.

Pronouns are never used with the imperative.

PARTICIPLES

elirê

rikha

lelê

bêshti

habê

past

elirêl

rikhu

lelu

bêkchu

klachêl

present

eliril

rikhê

lelê

bêshti

klachê

Participles are regular adjectives; those ending in -u have an oblique root -ul-.

Root alternations can be deduced from the first vowel of the ending: e.g. foka → past foku, present fochê.

In addition, twenty or so verbs (and their derivatives) have an irregular subjunctive stem, indicated in the dictionary. For instance, laoda 'go' has the subjunctive stem lod-. So instead of forming the present subjunctive *laodmâ, *laodmê... it's lodâ, lodê, lodê, loda, lodu, lodôn; and the past subjunctive is not *laodnâ... but lodi, lodi, lodâ, lodu, lodê, lodîn.

Ili ekuni dezdînlebê elorî. The princes selected a new king.Honê sîkeram rizundââla foela. A shameless woman wrote this letter.

With case marked for most words and subject agreement on the verb, word order is fairly free. There is a tendency to move the topic to the beginning of the sentence; this is done where English would passivize:

Il lebê elorîdezdîn ili ekuni. The new king was selected by the princes.Âla foelarizundâ honê sîkeram. This letter was written by a shameless woman.

Pronominal objects are normally placed before a conjugated verb, but cliticized after an infinitive.

There are no articles per se; but il 'that' is regularly used as a definite article (Leli mashtana 'I have seen a city'; Leli ila mashtana 'I have seen the city'), to the point that the demonstrative meaning of il is commonly reinforced by kêsht 'there' (and âl 'this' by âsht'here'): Sîk feriâ il mêdh kesht 'I can't stand that boy'. Such reinforcement is not needed when a contrast with âl makes the demonstrative meaning clear: âl shkenh êr il shkenh 'this chicken and that chicken'.

As the demonstratives have not completed their transition to articles, it is not surprising that certain English article usages do not occur in Barakhinei. In general il can be used as an article only when the referent has been explicitly mentioned ('The king is here. I hate the [il] king.') or, in speech, when it is present. A reference by implication won't do. Thus we can say 'I visited the palace. The king was there.' In Barakhinei one must say Elorî fâ kêsht, literally, 'King was there.'

Il should not be used as an article in genitive expressions: il midor chinach 'the mother of the bride' (not *ilach chinach).

In expressions involving a superior in rank ("the boy's master"), the inferior does not appear in the genitive, but in the dative (in male speech, or using 3s pronouns) or a + accusative (in female speech):

In male speech, speaking to peers or superiors, naked lê 'you' is avoided, in favor of titles. Note that second-person verbs are used with these expressions:

Il shkokh ful nhê fin? Would you (lit., the governor) like some wine?

Il klâtandu sîk amêti ibor? You (the priest) didn't bring the book?

Moru duzorech tekê dorovê? Your (the mayoress's) husband is fine?

Children (up to the nakî or manhood ceremony) use lê for everyone. So do women: it's considered cute in women (and very offensive in men) to address everyone in this 'childlike' way.

Note that lê or a title is almost always explicitly inserted, except with imperatives, since the verb endings alone do not always distinguish second from first or third person. (Only one lê is necessary in a multi-verb sentence, however.)

(As a corollary, first and third person subject pronouns are not necessary, and are included only for emphasis or contrast, or when conjoined.)

To negate a sentence, sîk is inserted before the main verb, or sî before a nonverbal element to be negated.

Sîk krecha ilî chinzikhî. We didn't eat the gooseberries.

Krecha sî chinzikhî, ak lomî. It wasn't gooseberries that we ate, but apples.

As in Engish, double negatives are discouraged, and can be interpreted 'logically': Nikt krecha 'We ate nothing'; Sî nikt krecha 'We didn't eat nothing' = 'We ate something'. However, in areas with strong Verdurian influence, such as Hroth and the Western Wild, Verdurian-style double negatives with a single negative meaning are used, and there is a transition zone (the foothills of the Elkarin mountains) where they are avoided entirely.

Male and female versions are given where appropriate. (p) is a placeholder for a particle of the speaker's choice; see Phatic particles above.
For lê, males should substitute a title for peers and superiors.

Barakhinei names still consist of a nom (given name) and patronymic (pidêl); family names (Ver. ženatî) are not used.

Pagan names are still normally formed from two name elements, though names of gods, planets, virtues, and plants are also popular. The names are much less stereotyped than in Verdurian or Ismaîn-- there are still several hundred elements in common use, and almost anything in the lexicon is really fair game.

The table below merely gives a few representative samples.

Masculine

Âdhdu

god-given

Elûtsan

virtue lord

Girôndkhum

lion guts

Kûbâkh

righteous core

Lôndorôth

honor sign

Parklêkh

mountain fist

Zôlpon

strong warrior

Bairel

coyote

Kehada

emperor Keadau

Feminine

Arksâ

bow woman

Chivêkeler

lively river

Elirêli

lovely melody

Ilôdnôch

silver night

Klachhanta

bright amber

Noênhu

rain-born

Sonachilêl

dream sky

Idura

longed for

Kôlef

the heroine Koleva

Below are listed the most common Arašei (Cuzeian) names. These may be given to either Eleďe or pagan children. A + after a feminine name indicates a second declension name (accusative in -e). Masculine names ending in -i are declined as neuters.

Plays (adlelekâ, literally 'showings') in the mountain lands are written and performed entirely by women. The women of any castle may put on plays; but in the larger towns they organize permanent acting societies (kudichanti). In these generally some actresses (kunakuli) specialize in male roles, cultivating male speech and mannerisms, and even studying swordfighting like men.

The plays themselves fall into two categories: tales of adventure and romance (mirebeli), often retelling legends of heroes or tales from national history; or social comedies (ridibeli), satires of contemporary nobles, merchants, and clerics. The first are more popular with male audiences, the second with female ones. Troupes are often adept at tailoring a play to their audience, reserving their sharpest satire or frankest treatments of love for an all-female crowd, and toning down caricature and humor when particularly severe lords are in attendance.

Below is an extract from one such play, Lhumudrel by Benhêk of Barakhina, which explores the consequences of crossing gender boundaries; in this extract we see the title character (whose name means 'loves wisdom') inviting herself into a realm of knowledge meant only for men, that of Caďinor and its literature. Her father strenuously objects; though it is significant that he never suggests any alternative occupation-- noblewomen were not expected to work; there were servants for that. The consequences will later involve a flight from her husband-to-be, in disguise as a male. She falls in with, and eventually in love with, a wandering scholar-soldier.

There is a happy if implausible ending: the scholar turns out to be a lord, and her fiancé. Thanks to the structure of the play, Benhêk can express some fairly radical notions about women's worth, and freely satirize the prejudices of men-- the conventional ending will smooth any feathers that have been ruffled.

(A note on the prices mentioned. 9 khurini (large gold pieces) is about 65 Verdurian falî; 3 khurini is 22 falî; and 2 ôkheki (small gold pieces) is 4.8 falî. By Verdurian standards the dress is cheap, reflecting the lower cost of Barakhinei labor; and the book very expensive-- it would cost 2 f in Verduria-city.)

FATHER. I gave you fourteen gold pieces last month, daughter. How did you spend them?

LHUMUDREL. Let's see if I remember. I spent 9 khurin on a dress--

F. 9 khurin , dress.

L. 3 khurin on a candlestick for Alôdel's wedding.

F. 3 khurin, candlestick.

L. And 2 ôkhek on a book.

F. 2 ôkhek, book.

L. The dress was blue linen with a yellow border, and very pretty, do you want to see it?

F. What's this about a book? What sort of a book is it? Some silly comedy, I suppose, and not something edifying and suitable for women, like a saint's life.

L. It's a book by Genremos.

F. A book by who?

L. Genremos, the philosopher.

F. Since when are they printing philosophers in Barakhinei?

L. Oh, it's in Caďinor, father. Did you know Genremos was born in Barakhún? In those days it was the province of Su:as, of course.

F. In Caďinor! Don't tell me you can read Caďinor!

L. Only a little. The priest helps me work it out.

F. I don't like this at all. For a young woman to be spending money on books is bad enough-- what is your husband going to say? But to be trying to learn Caďinor, as if you were a boy! What next? I suppose you're going to grow balls and a beard!

L. Oh father, don't be upset. It's only a diversion for the winter afternoons, when there's no riding or shooting and people don't come visiting...

F. Well, I won't have it. It's my fault, I suppose-- I haven't married you off. You're a comfort to your mother, you help me with the accounts. Selfish of us. Put it off too long. Tomorrow I'll send for your uncle the priest, and we'll make up for lost time.

L. Please, father, I'm not in any hurry to get married.

F. I've put it off too long indeed. I won't discuss it. Philosophers!(Leaves.)

L. Oh, cruel fate! Why did I mention the name of Genremos? If I had named some writer of comedies, like-- like Benhêk, I would have just received a scolding. Now I am to receive a husband as well! And be carted off to some castle where I don't know anyone, and who knows where, perhaps so far up in the mountains they've never heard of a book or a play, in Caďinor or any other language! Philosophy is supposed to open the mind, but you, Genremos, you have closed me up in a trap!

It's worth noting that there are a good many more cognates than is apparent from this sample, but they are obscured by idiom and semantic change. The Barakhinei future (laodâ ôtera 'I'm going to know') would be understood in Verdurian, for instance, since a similar construction is used in Ctésifon (lädai oteran), and there is a Verdurian cognate to kêshtor 'philosophy'-- kestora-- but it is now limited to only part of the field, what we would call natural philosophy.

On the other hand, somoch and samiose 'cruel' are not cognates; the Barakhinei word derives from the name of the Somoyi, the nearest barbarians and former masters of the mountain realm; while the Verdurian word means 'merciless' (sam iosun).